Our Top Game of 2007, Plus 9 More We Wouldn’t Kick Out of Bed in the Morning
Welcome to our first annual “Ripten Game of the Year Awards,” or “Rippy” as Chad likes to call it.
After much debate, we decided to base our game of the year on a collective vote, and allow the rest of our list to be governed by the scores we handed out during the course of the year.
Read on as our editors gush about our (sometimes bold, but always delicious) picks from the past twelve months.
#1 (GOTY) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – 9.8
Now gamers can truly feel they are living in the modern age with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Even though we’re uncertain about where the series will go from here, CoD4 is one of the best games of 2007.
It wasn’t just the absolutely astounding graphics and animation, which are more lifelike than any other first person shooter we’ve seen in this console generation. It’s because COD4 is one part explosive Michael Bay movie in the single player mode, and one part compelling multiplayer that shares DNA with MMORPGs.
In the single player campaign, there are a number of missions that are just astonishing. Early on, you’ll escape from a sinking cargo shipping carrying a radioactive payload. Later you’ll flashback to a young SAS leftennant on a sniper mission to assassinate a terrorist leader. And you’ll witness in first person the devastating, realistically rendered effects of nuclear terrorism.
As satisfying and replayable as the single player missions are, COD4 is a completely different and amazing experience in multiplayer. Leveling up to 55 again and again is a difficult challenge, but unique rewards like extra grenades or a “last stand” pistol draw make it easy to customize your experience.
Tons of weapons, an immersive story, and some of the best online multiplayer of the year adds up to one incredible package. There were a lot of first person shooters this year, and a lot of military themed games, but Call of Duty 4 blew away all of our expectations like a well-cooked grenade. For nailing the look and feel of global war in a fun, arcade-fast style, Call of Duty 4 is Ripten’s best game of 2007.
-Andrew Podolsky
Read Ripten’s review of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare here.
#2 Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction – 9.8
Some of us really loved Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction all the way around. Though there is the occasional glut of things to do and object to collect, making some tools or weapons feel underused, the overall attention to detail is astonishing. Insomniac’s labor of love is a game with outstanding animation, memorable characters, enough gunplay to make the grittiest of shooters blush, and one of the few that we are unabashedly happy to pick up and play.
What’s really remarkable about the series, though, is its ability to stay fresh and fun year after year (barring the skip to release Resistance: Fall of Man during the Playstation 3′s launch, of course), something that the Tony Hawks and Maddens of the world can’t lay claim to.
For its excellence in design and graphical fidelity, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is a class act, and that’s why it deserves number two on our list.
-Cavin Smith
Read Ripten’s review of Ratchet and Clank Future here.
#3 Orange Box – 9.5
Five games in one–and nearly all of them masterpieces. Half Life 2 and Episode 1 were repeats for regular PC gamers, but new achievements and graphical improvements made them both worth a second run. But the new experiences in Orange Box–defeating GLaDOS in Portal, mastering the classes in Team Fortress 2, and launching the gnome into space in Episode 2– were some of the defining moments of 2007 for many gamers.
Portal in particular stands out as deserving of recognition. Despite being very short and single-player only, Portal has some of the best writing, level design, and pacing of any game this year. Jonathan Coulton’s ending credits song “Still Alive” and the phrase “The cake is a lie” both became standout cultural flashpoints in 2007, referenced repeatedly by gamers still psyched from the heady physics and storytelling in Portal.
We can’t wait to see what will be packed into the next big box of fun from Valve–Maybe Episode 3, Portal 2, They Hunger, and Counter Strike 2?
-Andrew Podolsky
Read Ripten’s Orange Box review here.
#4 Super Mario Galaxy – 9.5
Mario’s return was an event of great fanfare and elegant design, and Nintendo’s reputation as the servant of only the casual player was slashed when critics witnessed Super Mario Galaxy’s globe-trotting gameplay and visual spectacle. It was truly the sequel many expected for the plumber after being disappointed by the lackluster Sunshine.
For the first time in history, a game beat the praise heaped upon Ocarina of Time, and, for a while, Mario was averaging the highest number-ratings in game history. The precise controls actually felt like they belonged on the Wii. Audiophiles raved about the soundtrack – a sterling example of tunes which carry a beat just as ably as they fit into the the game. A sustained, and improving, standard of level design ensured players enjoyed till the end.
Mario’s is a game of confidence, which made a bold design possible. All that can be told about this came can be said in two words: it delivered.
-Adam Montgomery
Read Ripten’s Super Mario Galaxy review here.
#5 Rock Band – 9.5
Four player co-op. How many games on the market offer that right now? How about four player co-op and one of the coolest rhythm games of all-time?
Rock Band takes the Guitar Heroes and plunks them down next to Sing Stars and Drum Maniacs, taking advantage of everyone’s mad music skills to offer one jammin’ game experience. Honing your skills in the single player modes to unlock new songs is great, but getting your band together (not to mention snatching the extra downloadable tracks) is what will keep you coming back.
A Rock Band party is the perfect way to ring in the New Year, so shred that Stratocaster while your friends keep the beat.
-Emily Balistrieri
Read Ripten’s Rock Band review here.
#6 Uncharted – 9.4
Like a finely cut and polished diamond, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune shines. Epic in its production values and delivery, this is one of the first games to succeed in movie storytelling without encroaching on the most important part of a videogame: it must be fun to play.
Uncharted is incredibly fun and immersive, throwing well paced and varied gameplay at you in a graphically gorgeous world of jungles, caves and more. Moreover, every moment you spend with Uncharted will be sweetened by its endearing characters and twisting plot. Letting go will be like letting go of an old friend, but when you finally do you’ll be filled with a rush of satisfaction, though you could just play through it all over again.
-Patrick Steen
Read Ripten’s Uncharted review here.
#7 Guitar Hero 3 – 9.2
In the year of Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero 3, both games blew up the music-rhythm genre and took them to new heights. Although it doesn’t come with drums or a mic, GH3 has one of the series’ best set-lists, an intense level of difficulty, and some satisfying boss battles against guitar legends like Slash, The Devil, and that guy from Rage Against the Machine.
Seriously, it’s the songs that rock. Paint it Black, Cherub Rock, and Cult of Personality all standout as superb, should-have-been-there-sooner examples of what makes Guitar Hero so great. We’d still like to see stand-alone songs for purchase, and the bundled hardware still has connection issues, but we’ll be playing Guitar Hero 3 well into 2008.
-Andrew Podolsky
Read Ripten’s Guitar Hero 3 review here.
#8 Bioshock – 9.0
Rapture, an underwater city built on the dreams of one man and brought to its knees by a civil war, creates the striking setting for one of the most memorable games of this generation. With graphics to please even the most demanding gamer, audio to match and a story as deep as the pressure surrounding the dystopian world, BioShock set out to create a gaming experience unlike any other, and succeeded triumphantly.
The steam-punk FPS with zombies on steroids by 2K games was released this summer with very little hype, however the game soon became an instant classic and phrases such as “A man chooses, a slave obeys” and “Would you kindly?” have become well known to gamers the world over. Drawing on some of the best writing ever seen in a video game, the game throws not just moral choices at you, but also one of the greatest and most unexpected plot twists I have ever experienced.
-John Kershaw
Read Ripten’s Bioshock review here.
#9 Sam and Max Season 2 Episode 1: Ice Station Santa – 9.0
It’s only the season premier, but Ice Station Santa does so much to bring back adventure games that it’s hard to picture the genre not making a comeback in 2008.
Bailing out a possessed Santa Claus and his freaked out Elves at the North Pole, you’ll cheat at Diner Trivia, run over Torture Me Elmer dolls, and take Boxing Betty on the underground rat-fighting circuit. In addition, you’ll save Jimmy Two Teeth from committing suicide, drop in on Sybil and Abraham Lincoln’s first date, and catch Bosco without his paranoid disguises. Oh, and then save Christmas past, present, and future.
The characters and humor are top-notch, and the new hint system is completely valuable for easily-frustrated players. You don’t need any prior Sam and Max experience to start back in on Season 2, and if the rest of the season keeps us this strong level of effort, we’ll probably see Sam and Max recognized for even more of their adventures this season.
-Andrew Podolsky
Read Ripten’s Sam and Max: Ice Station Santa review here.
#10 Crysis – 8.5
Crysis blurs your perception of reality; from the sandbox level design to the heart-stopping technical marvel that is the CryENGINE2 engine. This triple A title reminds PC gamers why they dish out the money – you want the best graphics money can buy? You’ve got it with Crysis.
Crytek tries hard not to outclass its gameplay with stunning visuals, making tense firefights seem all the more realistic with completely destructible environments. This makes cover based games like Gears of War seem archaic in comparison.
Crysis will forever go down in gaming history as the title that brought us kicking and screaming into the latest generation of gaming, quite easily surpassing any of its competition. However one truth will regrettably never be noted: the fact that Crysis is a damn fun game to play, not just look at.
-Josh Prankratz
Read Ripten’s Crysis review here.
